Springfield farmer Ryan Loflin on Monday planted the nation’s first industrial hemp crop in almost 60 years.

Loflin’s plans to grow hemp already have been chronicled, and Monday’s planting attracted the attention of more media in southeastern Colorado and a documentary film crew.

Hemp is genetically related to marijuana but contains little or no THC, the psychoactive substance in marijuana. Hemp has dozens of uses in food, cosmetics, clothing and industrial materials.

Its cultivation in small test plots became legal last year under a Colorado law. The passage of Amendment 64 in November allowed commercial growing, even though hemp, like marijuana, is illegal under federal law.

Loflin is planting 60 acres on acreage previously used to grow alfalfa. He and business partner Chris Thompson also are installing a seed press to produce hemp oil.

Collaborators in the documentary include the Colorado-based advocacy group Hemp Cleans and hemp-products company Hemp Inc.

“This is monumental for our industry,” said Bruce Perlowin, chief executive of Hemp Inc. “It will unlock a clean industrial revolution that will be good for the economy, good for jobs and good for the environment.”

As news of the deadly mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, unfolded last week, Pia Guerra, a 46-year-old Vancouver-based artist, felt helpless. She couldn’t bring herself to go to sleep, so she began to draw.

Police who find suspected drugs during a traffic stop or an arrest usually pause to perform a simple task: They place some of the material in a vial filled with liquid. If the liquid turns a certain color, it’s supposed to confirm the presence of cocaine, heroin or other narcotics.